


You Might Find More Than You Expect

by nothinbetter



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-12 22:20:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5682904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nothinbetter/pseuds/nothinbetter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura Hollis is a journalist who wants more than writing about bike safety, so one day she asks her boss to write about something more exciting. Next thing Laura knows, she is heading west, where some murders are happening and no one knows who the killer is. In the town Laura finds things she could never imagine, including a mysterious woman who may or may not help her solve this case.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Heading West

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, guys! It's been a while since I wrote fanfics, so... English is not my first language, so mistakes will be found, sorry. Also, this is my first work here, so maybe I am not totally sure how things work? We'll figure it out. The story is just a scratch, so opinions are more than welcomed! Oh, this is my first Carmilla fanfic too (a lot of firsts, huh). I don't know when the next chapters will be posted, because I'm a slow writer. Comments are appreciated. Enjoy!

The sun has set four hours ago.

He is walking on the street, in a neighbourhood on the outskirts of a small town in Styria, Austria. He walks this same path every Friday, when his friends meet in this bar nearby. The streets are oddly deserted. The cold wind blows on his skin and, even though he is wearing a coat, it makes him shiver. There is something telling him not to take the shortcut he takes every time, however he doesn’t listen to this inner instinct and turns left on an alley.

Suddenly something hits the man on the back and he can’t breathe. He falls and someone straddles him, making him unable to move. The aggressor leans in. The man feels a very strong pain on his neck.

And then he feels nothing.

He is dead.

 

“A corpse was found last night in the alleyway next to the market, by a local man. The man, Henrik Brun, told the Police he was passing by when he saw the body. The deceased man, Martin Herschel, was taken to the mortuary to find out the cause of the dead. The Police believe it is another victim of the mysterious murderer who’s been terrifying the town. If confirmed the suspicion, this would be the fifth victim in less than two months.”

Laura Hollis is sitting at her desk watching the news. Actually, she is only looking at the TV, but the words coming out of the woman’s mouth fall in deaf ears. She is so tired of this. On the desk, open, is the daily paper.

When Laura went to college, she expected, by the time she had gotten a real job, that she would solve mysteries and help put the bad guys behind bars. Maybe she _did_ imagine this while watching Scooby Doo and reading Nancy Drew, but just maybe. But this, this she never thought she would do.

The town was small and really, how many journalists do you need working on the daily town newspaper. Laura was lucky she first got a job there as an intern. When her boss told her she would be promoted, her brown eyes shined with enthusiasm. Finally!

Except promoted meant, in this case, instead of bringing everyone coffee, writing small articles about bike safety and dog breeds. Where is the mystery? Where is the thrilling excitement? The most exciting thing she’s written in two years is how to choose the best cookies. Truth be told, she got really carried away about the cookies. Something that should be 500 words turned out more than 2000. She just loves cookies.

The latest article she wrote was on how to cross the street properly. Five hundred words on how to cross a fucking street! Honestly, Laura was tempted on writing “Look both ways and just effing cross it!” So, to say she was done with this job was an understatement. That’s why she is so frustrated right now.

Laura is still looking at the TV, unable to look down at her article, when her boss storms into the room. She takes the chance and follows the woman’s fast pace.

“Mrs. Maier, I was wondering-“

“So say it,” the woman cuts Laura off.

“Okay. I was wondering if maybe I could write something more… exciting? Not that what I write isn’t exciting. It is. But… ‘How to pick up the soap when it falls in the shower’? That is not a very interesting topic,” Laura finishes.

Mrs. Maier stops walking and turns to Laura, who, at this point, is trembling inside and sure she will get fired. The boss puts a friendly hand on Laura’s back and then keeps walking, a slower pace, dragging the girl along.

“Actually, Hollis, I need to talk to you about this article,” the boss says. Yep. Fired. “It was the most commented topic on the website. Everyone loved it!” The woman lowers her voice, “You know why you don’t write more ‘exciting things’?” she quotes what Laura has said, “Because nothing exciting ever happens here!” Laura huffs. “The most exciting thing that happened lately was the mayor’s affair in 1998.”

“But what if we looked for new things in nearby towns?” Laura tries. She will not give up.

“I suppose…” Mrs. Maier says nonchalant.

“Please? I bet I can find a very interesting article.”

Mrs. Maier thinks for a moment. Laura is about to die inside. She wants this so bad! She wants to be a true journalist!

“Well, I guess it’s worth a try. I really like you, Hollis. You have what people call… What do they call? Ah, talent. And enthusiasm.” Laura celebrates. “Two weeks. I’ve heard there’s some pretty weird shit going on in the west. Start there,” the woman says and leaves Laura behind, walking faster now. “Don’t let me down, Hollis!”

“I swear I won’t, Mrs. Maier! I will do my best! I will…” she stops shouting and turns to her desk, “I will so win a Pulitzer for this!”

 

It turns out that planning what to take with you on a trip you don’t even know what you will find is pretty hard. Of course some things are essential, but then what? Laura opens her suitcase and throws inside some clothes. She stops. Well, maybe she needs to put more clothes in there, just in case. What if she needs that shirt she hasn’t worn in years or a swimsuit? You never know.

Laura found some things related to the supposed case her boss talked about. Incredibly, there were about three articles on the subject, which Laura thought was weird and exciting at the same time. That meant she would be the first to solve and document all this. Okay, maybe not solve, but at least document, that’s for sure.

She made a double check to be certain she is taking the necessary. At least five pens. Check. Two notebooks. She stops. She adds another one. Check. A camera and a voice recorder. Check, check. Flashlights and bear spray kit her dad gave her so she could protect herself. Check. Looks like everything is packed. Laura looks at her clock and the train she is taking leaves in an hour. She should go now.

The train ride is really normal. Not she was expecting murders and a lot of blood, or all sort of weird things to happen. Okay, maybe she was. Anyway, the strangest thing that happened was a man next to her who ordered cake for lunch. That was all. Oh, apart from that, she also noticed, after the train stopped on the last town before her destination, only two people remained on the train. She guessed tourism isn’t the town forte.

As soon as she got out of the train, she finds out why. It is the strangest place she’s ever been to. Carrying her suitcase, Laura strides through the train station really fast, hoping to be out of there as soon as she can. The town, Silas, is dark and chilly, even though no wind is blowing. Odd clouds cover the sun, leaving the place in mid-darkness. But Laura won’t let the weather intimidate her. She will be her own sunshine.

When she gets to the inn, apparently the only one in town, Laura is greeted once again with weirdness, but she guesses it couldn’t be different, since Silas is under the attack of some unknown person and she _is_ a foreigner in a place that doesn’t receive visits so often, as the train ride showed her.

“What can I help you, dear?” an elderly man gets up from behind the counter.

“I’m looking for a room, please.”

“Well, we have plenty of that here. The town does not attract tourists,” he says. “Anything special in mind? We have a master suite on the third floor, if you’re interested.”

“No, thank you. Just an ordinary one is enough,” Laura replies. The man gives her the creeps and so does this inn. She just wants to go home. But no, she must stay and report the case for the newspaper. Remember the Pulitzer, she tells herself.

The man offers her a room on the second floor. He also goes for her luggage, but she kindly declines the help. Laura is sure if that man moves he will break his bones. So that’s how she ends up dragging the enormous suitcase up the stairs and to the room. Good thing sometimes she does yoga.

Laura is full of expectations for this trip, so of course when she arrived she imagined the room to be dark and dirty. Her mind also thought there would be cobwebs and bloody footsteps. Opposite to that, the room was very clean and tidy. There’s a single bed with white sheets and even a desk, which she didn’t expect at all. It was a normal hotel room.

Whilst she was admiring the room, the door slammed. There is no wind. Laura startles. There is it! The creepiness! Oddly enough, Laura is happy that the inn might be haunted and she stops when she realises what she is doing.

“This town is making me go crazy,” she murmurs to the empty room.

Late that night, when Laura is lying in bed, she has an idea. It would be nice if she recorded this on camera. She could create a vlog. Looking around, she thinks the desk is the best place to put her camera, so she does just that. She settles everything and sits in front of the lens, taking a deep breath before she turns the camera on.

“Silas, Styria,” she begins, “If the aura of the town won’t frighten you, the five cases of murder in less than two months certainly will. The killer, still unknown to the Police, has been terrorising the poor people of this already terrorising town. The facts are very scares and there is hardly anything about the cases on the internet, which makes all this even more thrilling. This journalist is charged of bringing you the truth. Day one, starting tomorrow, the investigation begins.”


	2. Fieldwork

Laura tries searching some things about the town before starting her investigation on the next day, but she finds very little things about this place. Silas’ official website is temporary off air. There is no Wikipedia page about the town, but Laura was expecting that. The population of Silas is less than 1500. Laura probably knows more people than that.

So, since she can’t find where the Police Station is, Laura gathers her stuff in a purse and goes out. Maybe she should feel the town before asking questions.

The old man is behind the counter, just like yesterday. He still gives Laura the creeps, so she just nods her head towards him and walks faster. She looks both ways once she’s outside. Some people are walking through the streets and if it wasn’t for the odd weather, the town would even be a pleasant place to spend vacation with family. Around the inn there are some small stores and, to the left, some sort of square with weird-looking trees in it. Now that Laura is looking better, she sees that the streets are roughly paved and there are about two or three cars around. She begins walking.

Laura walks around downtown and she can’t find the Police Station anywhere, so when she sees the first person who is not _that_ weird, she stops them to ask.

“Hi, excuse me,” she says to the woman carrying a baby, “Do you know where the Police Station is?”

“No,” the woman quickly replies and starts walking the faster one can when carrying a child.

“Well, that was weird. But, I mean, look at this town,” Laura murmurs to herself and resumes her walking. “Excuse me, where is the Police Station?” she asks to a man sitting at the square. Laura almost expects a similar answer to the one she got earlier, but the man smiles before answering.

“Just turn that street to the left, two blocks and then turn right twice,” he says, “Middle of the block. You can’t miss it.”

Except she can. Laura walks for thirty minutes until finally finding the Police Station and noticing she has passed by that building three times and missed it. Rolling her eyes at herself, she opens the heavy door and gets in, surprised by how white the place is. But she guesses better be white and clear than creepy and dark like the outside. There is a police officer behind a desk and she goes straight towards him, not wanting to waste more time.

“Hello. My name is Laura Hollis and I would like to talk to the person in charge of the series of murders that have been happening lately, please,” Laura asks with the most confident tone she can muster.

The young man behind the desk looks up at her nonchalant and sighs heavily. “And may I ask what is that for, miss?”

“Uhm…” she doesn’t really know what to answer, “I work for a newspaper and we would like to cover the case of murders.”

The officer thinks for a moment. Should she have told a lie? But Laura Hollis never lies, especially for a police officer! What if she got arrested? Anyway, what would she even say? If they wouldn’t let her know facts so she could write an article about it, they wouldn’t let her know anything anyhow. The man picks up the phone very slowly and dials two numbers. He turns his chair and speaks low. Laura couldn’t catch anything. The officer hangs up and spin his chair back, looking into Laura’s eyes in a certain way that she surely doesn’t like a bit.

“Down the hall, fourth door to the left,” the man says. Laura isn’t sure of what he is saying for a second, but then it hits her and she looks around. She does just what she is told and walks down the hall, counting the doors as she passes by them. One, two, three and finally four. Laura stops in front of the door and prepares to knock. Suddenly the door opens and a man stands behind it.

“You must be Laura Hollis, the journalist,” he greets. At first she frowns and thinks it’s weird he knows those things about her, but then she remembers she told that to the officer behind the desk and he must have told the police chief.

“Yes, sir,” she answers. The chief motions for her to come in and sit down. Once Laura is as comfortable as one can be in that position, she takes a notepad and a pen from her purse. “I would like to know the exact facts about the murders. There isn’t much on the internet or anywhere else, really.”

“We like to keep things confidential, miss Hollis. The people are scared and they don’t need an everyday reminder on the newspaper of what has happened.”

“But there are like three articled on the internet. Don’t you think the cases should get more attention?” Laura scribbles furiously on the notepad.

“Why are you here, miss Hollis?” he asks while getting up from his chair and stating to pace around, which makes Laura uneasy. The police chief picks up a little brush and brushes his black moustache. Laura thinks the thick moustache makes up for the lack of hair on the head.

“I work for a newspaper in a nearby town and we would like to write an article about the case, sir. And since there’s very little information on display, I am here to find out more,” Laura replies. The man looks her up and down before returning to his chair and crossing his arms in front of his chest. Laura remains silent until the man sighs and gets up. He opens a drawer of the gray archive and grabs a surprisingly not so thin folder.

“What exactly do you want to know?” he says. Laura swiftly look at her notepad and goes through the pages until she finds the list of questions she wrote earlier.

“How many cases of murder do you think is linked to this murderer?” she begins. The pen is firmly grasped between her fingers.

The chief look at the folder and turns the pages.

“We believe five people were the victim of this sick person,” he looks bored.

“What are their names?”

“Edmund Raskop, age 35. Ludwig Kraemer, age 42. Hugo Weigand, age 20. Immanuel Klossner, age 54. Martin Herschel, age 28.”

“And how were they killed?”

“The killer has basically the same _modus operandi_. All the victims were killed at night, in dark alleys or abandoned places. They had a bite on their necks, two small holes, and all the blood was gone,” he reads the description on one of the pages. Laura snorts trying to hold a laugh. He scowls at her.

“A vampire serial killer?”

“Vampires aren’t exactly _not_ serial killers, miss Hollis.”

“Vampires aren’t even real, sir.”

He looks at Laura and she knows she stepped over some boundary. Quickly taking the vestige of the smile she previously had on her face, Laura straightens up her posture and goes to the next question before the man kicks her out.

“Uhm, do you have any clue of who did that?” she asks silently.

“The Police are working on it. That is all I am allowed to say,” the chief answers. He closes the folder, gets up and walks toward the door, opening it. Laura gets the hint. “That is all I can say, miss Hollis. Have a nice day.”

“You too,” Laura says and then she is on the hallway. Well, that wasn’t at all bad. She expected things to be way worse. Laura shrugs and heads back to the hotel. First she would see what she knows so far. Then, more fieldwork.

Laura has some trouble finding her way back to the inn, but eventually she sees the strange looking place she slept in. The moment she steps into the small lobby, she feels something is slightly different. Like an even weirder aura. Laura faces the counter to see if the creepy old man is still there and then her heart stops and speeds up at the same time. There, standing near the counter, is the most gorgeous girl Laura has laid her eyes on. She’s wearing a black shirt, matching black leather pants and boots. Laura never thought she would enjoy leather pants that much, but these are her new favourite garment now.

“I’d like a room, please,” the girl says with the sexiest voice on the planet and Laura can already feel her knees go weak. She imagines that voice saying some pretty nasty things to her and immediately shakes her head to get rid of the obscene thoughts.

The old man hands the girl a key and asks her to sign something. Laura takes the cue and quickly walks over to the stairs, tripping over a few steps on her way up. When she is near the second floor, footsteps can be heard going up the stairs as well. Laura hopes it is the girl in leather and that she stays on the same floor as her. As soon as raven hair appears on her sight, Laura runs to her room and peeks through a crack on the door. The girl gets into the opposite room. Laura sighs.

Laura sits down on the bed and takes the notepad out of her purse. She still doesn’t have much information, but is a lot more than what she began with. The journalist puts in topics all the facts she has.

Victim’s names:

Edmund Raskop, 35

Ludwig Kraemer, 42

Hugo Weigand, 20

Immanuel Klossner, 54

Martin Herschel, 28

Okay. So they are all men. Ages 20 to 54. That mustn’t be so important, because Laura can’t see any relation about the ages. Next step is to find out more about the victims to see if they have anything in common. But where? Laura opens her laptop and types the names. She doesn’t find much. Some profiles on different social medias and one speeding ticket. None of them had anything in common, apart from the fact that two of them liked Coldplay.

Death:

At night. Dark alleys or abandoned places.

Bite on the neck, two small holes. All blood gone.

Well, that is something else. Laura can’t think of a reason for that. The killer is into vampire roleplay? But there’s no way in hell or Hogwarts they could have taken all the blood from the bodies. That’s not humanly possible, is it? This is all very strange. But Laura supposes there’s so much in the world she didn’t know about.

The journalist sets the camera on the desk and sits on the chair.

“Good afternoon, gentle viewers!” she greets. “Day one of the investigation started and it didn’t start well. People seem a little reluctant on talking about the murders, which is understandable because, well, people died. The Police didn’t reveal much either, but I’ve got some facts. Five people were killed. All men. Description of the corpses: bite on the neck, two small holes, no blood at all. Vampire? I don’t know. All I know is this is getting creepier than I thought. And I thought it was pretty creepy already!” Laura sighs. She knows she doesn’t have much clues. “The Police weren’t allowed to say anything else. Let’s see what day two is going to be like.”

Laura turns the camera off. Only when her stomach grumbles she notices is almost two pm and she didn’t have lunch yet. Maybe she should try finding a nice restaurant in town. The journalist steps on the hallway and bumps into someone. She looks up and sees the leather pants girl.

“Oh, my God, I am so sorry. I didn’t see you,” Laura apologizes.

“It’s okay, I didn’t notice you either,” the girl shakes her head to get the bangs out of her face and offers Laura a hand. The shorter girl shakes the offered hand and makes the mistake to look the other girl in the eyes. They are dark and it seems like all the mystery of the universe is kept within those irises. The girl cleans her throat to get Laura’s attention. “You should look in the library,” she says.

“What?” Laura doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

“The victims of the murders. You should look in the library, maybe you’ll find something there,” the girl says.

“Oh, right. How do you know I’m here because of that?” the journalist is confused. She didn’t tell anyone she’s here for that.

“I kind of overheard it? I was walking down the hall and… These walls are really thin, I’m sorry. But you should totally try the library.”

“Okay, I will. Thanks for the tip. I’m Laura, by the way.”

“No problem, Laura. I’ve gotta go now,” the girl says and starts walking away. She’s almost at the stairs. Laura is there standing like a fool. She is almost sure she’s drooling.

“Hey, what is your name?” Laura shouts. The girl turns to her, smirks a little and Laura is now sure she’s drooling.

“Carmilla.”


End file.
